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iran srarns PATENT orrion R. MOODY AND S. D. DAKIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

`:BASIN TO BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH FLATING DRY-BOOKS;

Specification of Letters Patent No. 3,745, dated September 17, 1844.

To all 10h-0m if may concern:

Be it known that we, RUTHERFORD MOODY and SAMUEL D. DAKIN, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved stone dry-dock combined with an elevating floating dry-dock, to be used in connection with a horizontal or inclined bed and sliding ways or railways and to be provided with a gate, designed for hauling ships ofi' from the elevating-dock after they have been raised upon the ways upon the land and for delivering ships from t-hese ways into the water afloat; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description.

rlhe nature of our invention consists in providing a dock or basin sufficiently large to receive the elevating dock with a vessel upon it and to enable the same to turn around within it if it is desired, with a plat- `form in its bottom made either level or inclined and of suflicient depth below the surface of the water to allow the water to flow over the platform from eight to fifteen feet in depth or to any other desired depth. The side walls of the basin are to be constructed of timber or stone or masonry of any kind in the usual manner; or the side walls may be dispensed with by constructing the platform on the outside of a bulkhead; and t-he platform may be made of timber, concrete, st-one or masonry of any kind, laid upon a sufficient foundation of either piles,stone or any thing else that will provide a suitable basis.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation more definitely.

Vire construct a wharf or bulkhead in the usual manner, fronting the line of a ship or navy yard, represented in the annexed drawing at A, B; we excavate a basin into the shore in the rear of the bulkhead, or in front thereof, with a platform or bottom in the basin formed at such depth as thatthe ele vating dock with a ship upon it, may be iioated over it, and settled upon its bottom, represented at C. lts side walls are constructed of stone or timber represented at 0. In the bottom of this basin or dock, at the requisite depth Vsay twelve feet more or less, according to the size or draft of water of the elevating dock, `we construct either` a level or an inclined platform of earth, timber, concrete, stone, or masonry of any kind, laid upon the earth or upon piles driven into the earth kcut off level, then `capped and covered with plank, upon which is laid a floor of stoneor any other material, `represented at C. y 7e either make the bottom of the basin a smooth surface or we lay ribs of timber or stone across it to rest the elevating dock upon; or we place ribs across the bottom of the elevating dock, in order to prot-ect it from any injury that might result .from placing it on the bottom of the stone basin or dry dock. We then construct upon the shore level or inclined bed sliding ways or railways with cradle to match, represented at F, one or more, running back at right angles from the edge of the basin to any `required distance; and we construct upon the floating dock (G) Fig. 2 sectional view, bed ways or railways corresponding therewith, upon which the vessel may be hauled mechanical power. l/Ve construct in front of the basin a solid water tight wall either of stone or any other material, part way across, but leaving suficient spacetoadmit the elevating dock to float into the basin or dry dock represented at K. Across this space, we construct a tight gate,`which is opened to admit the elevating or floating dock and ship, and which is then closed s0 be pumped out dry. This gate may be constructed in the same manner as the ordinary floating gate or turning gate, used in the common stone dock, or it be so constructed as to swing down into the water in front of the basin and be raised at pleasure. Its stability may be secured by braces stepped into the bottom of the basin. It is represented at D.

The manner of using the dock is as `follows: The elevating or fioating dock is and sunk to receive the vessel; and when the dock with the vessel Vupon it is raised, it is then floated into the basin and settled upon its platform in any required position by admitting the water into the tanks of tie floating dock. The gate of the basin is then closed and the water pumped out so as to leave the basin dry and the vessel upon a level with the navy or ship yard. The vessel can then be repaired upon the dock or hauled j out into the yard upon t-he bedway or railoftn from the dock upon the shore, by any.

that the water within the basin or dock may floated out of the basin into the deep water Way with which it is brought into connection. The doekv can then be used to take up other Vessels to be drawn off in the same manner upon as many Ways as there is room for. When the ships are repaired they can be hauled back again upon the dook, and, Water being admitted into the basin, the floating doek With the vessel may be floated out into deep water and the latter set afloat. Ships oanlbe built upon the Ways, and when finished,'may be hauled upon the dock, floated out into deep Water and let o-ii" Without launching in the ordinary Way. Ships may also be laid up in the ordinary Way and under cover, by constructing a suitable house over the Ways and delivering the vessels under the houses upon the Ways as above described. Y

What We claim as our invent-ion and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The employment of a turning, floating or swinging gate or a gate of any other form, for the purpose of excluding Water from the basin above described, to be used in combination with the said basin and the elevating or floating dry doek above mentioned.

Dated May 14th 1844.

RUTHERFORD MOODY. S. D. DAKIN. In presence of- JOHN L. SAFFORD, CHAS. GUILD. 

